Una settimana tipica a Firenze: Parte I

As my study abroad experience nears its end, I've decided to document a typical week in Florence. For the past few months, literally every single moment has been enjoyable, and I don't want to forget anything.

Mondays start with Italian. Usually, I come up to campus to get some work done (basically, everything I didn't do over the weekend). This is the view from my classroom. I'm going to miss it when I'm sitting underground in Tisch Hall.

This is my professor, Mara. She's great, and we all love her. Unfortunately, we only speak Italian in class, so sometimes I have no idea what's going on.

After Italian, I cross to the other side of campus for my drawing class. This is the view of Villa Ulivi (the academic center) from the center of campus.

Since the weather is now gorgeous, we get all of our supplies before heading outside to draw various parts of campus.

Tuesdays start with office hours in the OSL. It's usually pretty quiet because no one is on campus in the mornings!

I leave office hours and head to lunch before going to class. This Tuesday, we ate in the gardens behind Villa La Pietra, so I had to cross to the other side of campus.

Luckily, there is a driveway that leads to Villa La Pietra. It saved me from having to cross "Death Valley".

Campus is a huge change from NYU. The only downside is that my allergies go insane here.

The gardens are stunning when everything is in bloom.

We had sandwiches from a shop near campus called Bar Lydia. Mine was tomato, mozzerella, and pesto on focaccia.

I usually stop by the cafe in Villa Ulivi before class to get a snack or a drink. They make the best nutella croissants I've ever had.

A Trip to Paris Isn't Complete Without a Giant Meal

one of the best dinners I've ever had

my appetizer: foie gras with some sort of peppery apple stuff

everyone else got the butternut squash soup

my main course: lamb with hazelnuts and some peanut butter sauce

Mike's main course: veal with potatoes

Joe's main course: duck

Jen's main course: a chicken stew served over a puff pastry

Katie's main course: fish with saffron, potatoes, and blueberries

dessert time

the macaroons: vanilla and pistacchio

my birthday cake! (I think it was a giant macaroon, with raspberries and rose oil cream?)

Turning 20 in Paris = Epic.

The first night, we went to a fondue place where they serve cheese fondue, give you a pot of boiling oil to cook chunks of steak, and serve wine in baby bottles.

Notre Dame in the morning

shopping around for our picnic at Versailles

Paris in the spring

French baguettes > Italian bread

our assortment of French cheeses (brie, camembert, rocafort, a goat cheese, and some spicy cheese spread)

the gardens of Versailles

walking through the palace

the hall of mirrors

A Quick Daytrip to Venezia (Venice)

this time, the trip was a lot less crazy, but a lot more crowded

this shirt accurately depicts the nightmare that is getting around Venice

Italian Culture and Language Lesson in Calabria

We took the weekend to make a trip down to the region of Calabria (the southern most part of the boot of Italy) to visit Jen's family (who she's never met before). Nobody spoke English, so I learned more Italian in those few days than the past few months studying it in school.

It was also beautiful.

the beach right next to the resort we stayed at because Jen's cousin helps manage it

you can see it on the hill (the red roof)

views from the resort

it was the most relaxing weekend I've had in awhile

we stopped by Pisa on the way home and took pictures with the leaning tower

Spring Break 2010: Touristing in Florence (Part Two)

views from the Boboli Gardens

walking up to Piazzale Michelangelo (not a good idea after hiking around the Boboli Gardens)

the view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo

the fake, bronze David

Gelato

women doing some pastel drawings on the street